Where is Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad located?

Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad is located in Flint, MI.

How do I get tickets to Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad?

Tickets and current schedules are available on the operator's official website at https://geneseecountyparks.org/crossroads-village-huckleberry-railroad-1a/.

Photo by Drew Jacksich from San Jose, CA, The Republic of California, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad

Flint, MI

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Upcoming Events

No ticketed events are currently listed for Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad. Many heritage operators publish schedules seasonally or run on regular open hours instead of dated events.

Check the operator’s website for current hours and special runs, or subscribe to event alerts and we’ll email you when something is scheduled.

About Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad

Ride a narrow-gauge steam train along Mott Lake behind a 1920 Baldwin locomotive, then wander a living-history village of 34 buildings that includes Michigan's oldest operating gristmill, a blacksmith shop, and a cider mill. Spin on a 1912 Parker carousel and a 1910 Superior Wheel, cruise aboard the Genesee Bell paddlewheeler, and catch seasonal Halloween and Christmas festivities.

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History

Crossroads Village and the Huckleberry Railroad opened together on July 4, 1976 under the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission — the outgrowth of a 1950 City of Flint master plan that called for an upstream Flint River recreational area, and of a 1965 land-purchasing assistance offer from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation whose conditions led the county to form its parks commission the following year. A farm museum had been proposed for the area, and residents concerned about the loss of historic buildings as the county developed pushed for an adjacent historical village built from donated, relocated structures. The railroad's line is far older: it began operating in 1872 as part of the Flint River Railroad, was extended by the Flint and Pere Marquette to Otter Lake — and eventually 19.5 miles from Flint to Fostoria — before the Pere Marquette abandoned it in stages in 1932 and 1933. The Huckleberry name comes from the story that the train traveled so slowly a person could jump off, pick wild huckleberries, and re-board without difficulty. The depot at Crossroads Village is the former Grand Trunk Western Railroad station from nearby Davison.

The Trains

The Huckleberry Railroad runs three-foot narrow-gauge trains of vintage wooden coaches — eleven of them, plus a caboose — along the shore of Mott Lake. Steam power is led by No. 152, a 1920 Baldwin 4-6-0 built for the Alaska Engineering Commission, which returned to service in late July 2018 after a restoration begun in 2016; No. 464, a 1903 Baldwin 2-8-2 K-27 'Mudhen' from the Denver & Rio Grande Western, is undergoing a rebuild. The roster also includes No. 12, a General Electric 45-ton diesel formerly of Bethlehem Steel, two Plymouth HSG units from the Badger Army Ammunition plant, and display pieces such as a 1904 Baldwin 2-8-0 parked by the main line and an 1894 Brooks 2-6-0 stored at the shop complex.